Emancipation

Although the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, the end of slavery was an uneven process that played out in different ways across the nation and spanned decades. But the hard-fought battles of the Civil War did make emancipation possible on a national scale, and the actions taken by freedmen and legislators during Reconstruction helped make freedom permanent. This exhibit traces the long history of emancipation in the United States.